How mushrooms might save the honey bee

In the fight against one of the honey bee’s nemesis, the varroa mite, scientists have found an ally in a widely-distributed mushroom. Pity the honey bees. Between toxic pesticides, habitat change, disease, and stress, they’ve got the ol’ blood-sucking varroa mite to contend with as well. Is it any wonder that these workhorses of the insect world are struggling? As honey bee (Apis mellifera ) populations around the world are declining thanks to the mysterious phenomenon known as “colony collapse disorder” (CCD) – the cause of which is not exactly known, but assumed to be a combination of the aforementioned conditions – scientists are frantic to help. While the losses have stopped their quick ascent, they persist – the current average rate of 30 percent annual mortality is still nearly double the average rate reported prior to 2006, notes the California Academy of Sciences' ...